AN intriguing super-lightweight clash between Regis Prograis and Oscar Duarte has become increasingly less likely, with The Ring Magazine reporting that the former has sustained a shoulder injury.
The pair are scheduled to square off on February 15, headlining a Golden Boy Promotions card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
As of now, there has been no confirmation as to whether their showdown will still go ahead, though one would suspect that Duarte, 28-2-1 (22 KOs), is nonetheless searching for a new opponent.
Since suffering an eighth-round stoppage defeat to Ryan Garcia back in 2023, Duarte has claimed two notable scalps against former world champion Joseph Diaz and dangerous puncher Botirzhon Akhmedov.
The more recent performance saw a calculated and measured approach from the 29-year-old, who mixed it up on the inside to secure a comprehensive unanimous decision victory.
Prograis, 29-3 (24 KOs), meanwhile, comes off two back-to-back losses against Devin Haney and Jack Catterall, with many questioning the former two-division world champion’s future at the elite level of his sport.
Sure enough, the 36-year-old teased a potential retirement shortly after his defeat to Catterall, who will take on Arnold Barboza Jr in a WBO final eliminator on February 15.
At the same time, though, Prograis displayed enough tricks in the trade during his last outing to suggest that he is not quite over the hill just yet.
But now, if the American has, in fact, suffered a serious shoulder injury, it would appear that his decorated career is indeed edging closer to its conclusion.
